Classical Extension Program (C.E.P)

REQUIREMENTS:

Minimal entry requirements are that students are partaking in a certain number of hours per week (depending on their division the hours will vary). Students also need to have a serious goal to pursue classical ballet as a career.

There is also an assessment of anatomy and an assessment of character (personality), maturity, seriousness, etiquette and behaviour that goes into consideration when selecting students for this program.

SUCCESS & ACCOLADES:

Students who have been a part of the CEP Program have been invited & accepted into prestigious schools and company events world wide.

Mission Statement

The Academy is a selective school providing gifted and devoted ballet students aspiring to pursue a professional career in dance with the opportunity to train in our unique Classical Extension Program (C.E.P). The mission of the Classical Extension Program (C.E.P) is to nurture, train and educate exceptional young dancers to a high standard of technical and artistic development and to inspire the future of classical ballet.

ENTRY:

Entry into the Classical Extension Program (CEP) is by Audition only.

The program is designed to have no more than 10 students per class (under the sole discretion of the Academy). Generally speaking there are a handful of students selected annually or who pass the auditions for entry into this program as it is extremely selective.

Group auditions are held annually that accompany a varied fee. If you are unable to attend the Audition date an individual private audition with the Academy Director can be arranged.

The C.E.P Division of the Academy is focused on extending and progressing the students training and knowledge of the fundamentals of classical ballet. Areas of focus include:

Core strength

Foundation & Technique

Musicality & Rhythm

Performance skills

Imagination, Mime & Improvisation

Floor Barre & Ball Barre

Pilates

Character, National/Historical Dance

Anatomy

Body Awareness & Self Correction

Coordination

Flexibility, Limber & Conditioning

Dance Vocabulary

Theory, Dance Vocabulary & French Terminology

Repetoire & Choreography

Planning, Goal Setting & Time Management

Examinations & Assessments

Note: Age is used as a guideline. The teachers at MA Arts will make a determination as to the most suitable level for the Student.

The Classical Extension Program classical classes are run in the Vaganova method and is designed for those seeking elite training or are looking to pursue a professional career in the future. The Vaganova method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova (1879–1951). This method is technically difficult to master and requires a serious, committed & patient mind who is willing to learn all the nuances of classical ballet such as port de bras, light ballon in their allegro, clean adagio lines, impeccable musicality in more complex & varied tempos, and consistent dedication to a more slower yet focused system that will definitely shape a longer, leaner physique and leave you with a more finished and polished dancer.

The Vaganova method, developed in Russia over the course of 300 years, embodies the classicism of the Russian Imperial Ballet (now known as the Kirov or Mariinsky Ballet). Its goal is the creation of classical ballet dancers who are instruments of artistic and creative perfection. Derived from earlier Italian and French forms of ballet instruction, the Vaganova (Vah-GAH-no-vah) method provides students with a structured, scientific and methodological approach to dance which takes the human anatomy into consideration.

Hallmarks of the Vaganova system are the continual flow of the body with the coordination of arm and head positions. It is believed that by using such a proven method in creating professional dancers, the foundation is solid and can allow the adding of different “styles” as a dancer matures and has already created the necessary building block of beautiful, safe, correct technique. A solid technical foundation is the pathway of any great dancer. The Vaganova method that has created some of the world’s most acclaimed dancers, choreographers, and teachers: Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Baryshnikov, George Balanchine, Rudolph Nureyev, Svetlana Zakharova, Diana Vishneva, Natalia Osipova, Uliana Lopatkina, Vladimir Malakhov, Alexei Ratmansky, and so many more!

MA Arts prides itself on providing students with the best professional ballet training available and made possible by employing a systematic and consecutive method of instruction.

The Classical Extension Program character classes are run in the International Character Dance Syllabus, we are extremely lucky to have Alida Segal as our character teacher and part of the Academy faculty.

Alida Segal is regarded as one of Australia’s most respected dance lecturers and choreographers specialising in National and Character Dance. Graduating from the Moiseyev School of National and Character dance in Moscow, Russia, she has worked with professional companies and leading training institutions as an advisor, teacher and choreographer for more than 35 years. Her early dance training includes studying classical ballet under Kathleen Gorham, Eileen Tasker, Madame J. Ciunovas and Laurel Marten OBE and Character dance under Madame Marina Berezowsky. Being offered a place at the Victorian College of The Arts, she decided to further her dance training overseas and travelled to Moscow where she graduated with honours from the Moiseyev School of National and Character Dance. She went on to study Teaching Methodology and Choreography and was awarded a Diploma in National and Character Stage Dance from the USSR’s Ministry of Culture. She was later offered a position in Doctorate studies in Choreography at Moscow’s State institute for Performing Arts and was the sole Australian delegate at UNESCO Symposium “Preservation and Development of Folk Dance” held in Russia. She has performed across Australia with Kolobok Dance Company and at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Moscow, with the Moiseyev School.

Her many teaching and choreographic engagements include The Australian Ballet school (lecturer and member of assessment panel), The Australian Conservatoire of Ballet, Shalom Australia Dance Company, the Queensland University of Technology (Dance Department), The Victorian College of the Arts. Also being fluent in both English and Russian she is often called upon to translate and assist visiting Russian teachers and choreographers working in companies and elite training institutions. While Head of Character Dance studies at the VCA & VCASS, her choreography was performed for HRH Queen Elizabeth II and on the schools international tours to Scotland & Singapore. Other engagements include directing, producing and presenting “From Folk Dance to Footlights” for Multicultural Arts Victoria; Assistant Ballet Mistress for VIC Arts Dance Company; Dance Consultant for Monash University (Drama) & VCA (Drama); and her expertise in dance training was sought by Olympic Gold Medal winning skaters Christopher Dean & Jane Torvill. Over the past several years she has been writing her six-level syllabus which launched in Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane in 2013 with her workshop program “An Introduction to Character Dance” Teacher training seminars and lectures for the International Character Dance Syllabus now take place all over Australia.